As a hearing-impaired person, I have found it difficult to express my innermost reflections through spoken language. At the age of 15, my mother passed away from cancer. She was my link to communicating with the outside world. Her technique created limits, barring me from learning sign language while emphasizing lip reading. I had to learn to negotiate the world around me on my own. Art has helped me search for meaning in more intimate acts—my hands, their relationship to the world, my sight, and my ability to touch.

As a cross-disciplinary artist, I create paper sculptures, prints, animation, and performances based on my life experiences. My practice is focused on finding ways to translate my perception. Therefore, most works are rooted in the personal, both mental and physical. Most recently, my practice has extended to environments-based installation and vibrational materials. I invite the viewer to experience my perception of the world, devoid of aural stimulation.

Janhavi Khemka is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Chicago, IL. Her current artistic research has an intersection of traditional printmaking, animation, vibration material, and performance.